Fluffy Bits
by Kimberly T
Summary: This series of 100-word Zutara drabbles covers the challenges from Zutara Week 2011, Zutara Week 2012, and the first Zutara Month, followed by a few author notes for drabbles from all three Zutara challenges.
1. 2011 Zutara Week Day 1: Mask

**Zutara Week 2011 Drabbles**

**Day 1: Mask**

From sunrise to sunset, Fire Lord Zuko works tirelessly for his country. He wears the robes and crown, presides over meetings and ceremonies; he is regal, diplomatic and everything his country needs him to be.

But sometimes when the sun goes down, he puts on the black clothing and mask again. The Blue Spirit dances across the rooftops, free of care.

By day, Katara is the Avatar's Girlfriend, the gracious and compassionate ambassador for her people.

By night, sometimes the Blue Spirit is joined by a female Red Spirit, and they run away from the palace, into the night together.


	2. Day 2: History

**Day 2: History**

Zuko asked Team Avatar to help correct his nation's history and social studies textbooks, so the next generation will grow up learning the truth about the war, and the cultures previous Fire Lords tried to destroy.

Katara's tribe had few scrolls; their meager library was destroyed in raids. She's fascinated to find that the Fire Nation's written history goes back _millennia_…

And that just five centuries ago, a Fire Nation prince wed a Water Tribe princess.

Zuko talks of bringing back 'the old ways', the culture that Aang remembers. Katara wonders if they can bring back an even older custom…


	3. Day 3: Social Networking

**Day 3: Social Networking**

The Fire Lord is on Facebook. A press secretary maintains his page for him and his myriad faithful followers, posting daily notices about his schedule of appearances, and the few tidbits of his personal life that Zuko is inclined to share.

Master Waterbender Katara is on MySpace. One of her students willingly maintains her page for her, and posts the weekly advice columns she writes.

NeverGivesUp and LovesPenguins are on Twitter, with only their closest friends as followers. And when they're alone, or stuck in meetings but have means of concealing their hands from everyone, they constantly text each other.


	4. Day 4: Secret

**Day 4: Secret**

"I know all your secrets," Katara whispered in Zuko's ear.

"You think so?" he smirked. "Even things I've never told anyone?"

"Mm-hm. You sister nicknamed you 'Zuzu'."

"Mai told you that."

"You were once bitten by a turtle-duck."

"Ty Lee told you that."

"You put fire flakes in everything, even your congee."

"Sokka told you that."

"You like to sneak out at night as the Blue Spirit."

"Aang told you that."

"You like to spy on me when I'm waterbending."

Blushing, he stammered, "W-who told you that?"

She smirked. "You did, just now."

"Gaah! I've gotta stop falling for that!"


	5. Day 5: Awkward

**Day 5: Awkward**

Zuko snuck out in disguise to buy the customary fancy hair combs, and secretly carved a betrothal necklace too. Then he started practicing his proposal speech, alone by the turtle-duck pond.

"Katara, I need to get married and produce an heir, and I was hoping—no, no, that sounds awful!" He paced, tried again. "Katara, we've known each other for two years—well, actually, three years, but we shouldn't count all the time I was trying to capture the Avatar…"

"But I do count that time," Katara said as she suddenly rose up from underwater, smiling quizzically. "Why; what's up?"

"…Uhhhh…"


	6. Day 6: Legendary

**Day 6: Legendary**

"…And having proved their love to everyone, and that opposite elements could work together for the benefit of all, Zuko the Benevolent married Katara the Brave-"

"And they lived happily ever after!"

The mother just smiled at her daughter's interruption. "Yes, they did. And they had four children, two of Fire and two of Water. Firelord Lu Ten the Wise, Princess Ursa the Healer, Chief Roku the Mighty and Chieftess Kya the Clever; the co-founders of our Western Water Tribe."

"More! Tell the story of how they tamed and rode a sea dragon!"

"Tomorrow, sweetie. It's time for bed…"


	7. Day 7: Caught

**Day 7: Caught**

They quickly found an empty room and closed the door behind them, with Zuko muttering that they really shouldn't be this good at sneaking around. "We shouldn't," Katara agreed, but that didn't stop them.

Soon, Katara was moaning, "Ohhh, so good…"

Zuko would have agreed with her, but he was doing other things with his mouth at the time.

Utterly preoccupied, they didn't hear the door open. But they heard Aang's voice: "Katara? Zuko!"

Guilt surging through them, they turned to see the look of betrayal on Aang's face as he cried,

"I baked those cupcakes for the party tonight!"


	8. 2012 Zutara Week Day 1: Serendipity

This drabble series is back again, for **Zutara Week 2012!**

**Day 1: Serendipity**

Once Katara had asked her mother, "What's 'serendipity' mean?"

Kya told her, "Discovering something nice, while looking for something else. Like looking for a dropped mitten in the snow, but finding a forgotten cache of winter supplies instead."

Later in life, Katara would come up with far better examples:

Sailing through polar waters looking for fish, but finding the Avatar instead.

Crossing the Earth Kingdom looking for an earthbending teacher like Bumi, and finding another best friend instead.

Storming across the Western Air Temple looking for a fight with that supposedly reformed Fire Prince… and finding her future husband instead.


	9. Day 2: Momentous

**Day 2: Momentous**

Iroh's life had been full of momentous occasions; some of them happy, some tragic, some important but exceedingly tedious… and more than a few that, looking back, he was now ashamed to have participated in.

But today he was only too happy to participate in this particular momentous occasion, a wedding signifying the union of the Water Tribe and Fire Nation royal families. He discreetly coached his nephew through the hours-long ceremony, led the cheers when Fire Lord Zuko presented his bride Katara to the populace… and grinned when they scandalously _kissed_ in front of everyone. _That's my boy_!


	10. Day 3: Transcend

**Day 3: Transcend**

Deep inside the secret tunnel system, Zuko commented in wonder, "I thought you said we'd have to kiss in the dark before the glowing crystals would appear. But they're lighting the way when we're just holding hands!"

"And I'd swear they're glowing brighter now than they did for me and Aang," Katara mused. "Because we're truly in love?"

Inside Oma and Shu's tomb, Zuko read the first earthbenders' story while Katara tucked herself comfortably under his chin, then said softly, "They were like us; their love was strong enough to transcend politics and war."

"And perhaps… strong enough to transcend lifetimes..."


	11. Day 4: Whimsical

**Day 4: Whimsical**

The Fire Sages had a long list of instructions for Katara to follow during her pregnancy, to ensure her and Zuko's first child would be a firebender. Eat this, don't eat that, pray to Agni every day, no waterbending (boo hiss!)

But one instruction, that Zuko firebend near Katara's growing belly every night, they were happy to follow. First, it got Zuko out of meetings that dragged on too long, and second:

"Do an ostrich-horse!" Katara whimsically suggested, and smiled as her grinning husband created a fire-shape and sent it galloping in circles around her. "Good one; now do Momo!"


	12. Day 5: Heartstrings

**Day 5: Heartstrings**

Toph was Tough. Hard as stone. _Not_ sentimental! She didn't even _have_ heartstrings!

When she kept hearing Zuko quietly sigh after Katara, it meant _nothing_ to her.

Toph wasn't affected when she noticed how Katara's heartbeat kept speeding up in Zuko's presence, or how she kept sort-of leaning towards Zuko even when Aang was holding her hand. Not affected at all!

So why did she make a crystal cavern like the one under Ba Sing Se, and then stuff both Zuko and Katara down there for two days straight, until they came up engaged?

_Because she felt like it, that's why_!


	13. Day 6: Faded

**Day 6: Faded**

The decades have taken a toll on them both:

Katara's luxurious chocolate-brown hair faded first to gray, then to white. A fine spiderweb of wrinkles spins outwards from the corners of her eyes. Her once proud posture now hunches slightly, the infamous 'dowager's hump.'

Zuko's hair has also gone white, and his face lined with wrinkles, though his scar is ever unchanged. Arthritis and old battle injuries have stiffened his limbs, requiring daily heat and liniment treatments.

But he says their love burns as brightly as ever, while she maintains that their love is still as deep as the sea.


	14. Day 7: Seasons

**Day 7: Seasons**

"…Winter, spring, summer and fall.

Four seasons, four loves;

Four seasons for love."

But Katara frowned, unlike other times she'd coaxed Zuko into singing for her. "Four seasons, four loves? That's celebrating infidelity!"

"Not at all! For example, in the spring, I love the way you look under the falling cherry blossoms. In summer, the way your ice-bending cools everyone off. In the fall, I love going with you to the harvest festivals. And in winter, when you dance in the monsoon rains…" Zuko grinned suggestively, then sang again, "Four seasons, four loves…"

Smiling, she sang back, "Four seasons for love!"


	15. Zutara Month Day 1: Relief

Adding more to this drabble series, to celebrate Zutara Month 2012!

**Day 1: Relief**

Even the Fire Nation natives think their summers are hot. So many of them wondered, how does Lady Katara maintain her poise even in midsummer, wearing such heavy formal robes? It's expected of Fire Lord Zuko, firebenders of royal blood probably think sweating is beneath them, but… how does she do it?

At the midsummer royal ball, Katara passed close by where Zuko was conversing with his ministers… and with a discreet bending motion, chilled the water in the waterskin he was wearing strapped under his robes, similar to her own. The relieved smile he gave her was thanks enough.


	16. Day 2: Luminous

**Day 2: Luminous**

Walking together at night on Ember Island, Zuko stared up at the moon, his expression tinged with guilt. "Uncle said once that the Moon Spirit helped us survive when we were adrift for three weeks, but… If I hadn't taken the Avatar out of the oasis, Princess Yue would still be alive right now."

"I honestly don't think so," Katara murmured. "Chief Arnook had a vision… And besides, I know she doesn't blame you for anything."

"How can you know that?"

She cupped his face, lit in the luminous glow. "If she did, you wouldn't look this handsome in moonlight."


	17. Day 3: Potential

**Day 3: Potential**

Zuko was fretting again about turning into his father; about how the potential for madness and evil was there in his blood and in the absolute power of the throne… To show him she understood, Katara took a deep breath, and told him all about her and Hama.

"Bloodbending… _controlling_… it's an addictive power," she whispered. "The potential… What if I turn into her?"

"You won't," Zuko said with certainty. "The darkness inside you is outshone by the light you bring to everyone; your compassion. I know you, Katara."

She covered his hand with hers. "Just like I know _you_, Zuko."


	18. Day 4: Change

**Day 4: Change**

The Fire Crown and royal mantle, and other trappings of the Fire Lord's office, were traditionally kept in the Fire Lord's private suite when not being worn. But immediately after Fire Lord Zuko's marriage, they were moved into an antechamber to the palace's family wing.

After each day's business and regal affairs were finished, the Fire Lord entered the antechamber with his valets, to be divested of the royal robes and crown. Then, changed into a simple tunic and pants, Zuko came out to kiss his wife, joke with his brother-in-law and friends, and just be himself with his family.


	19. Day 5: Serenade

**Day 5: Serenade**

Someone in the palace was playing a tsungi horn late one evening, and for once, it wasn't Iroh; he'd left his at the teashop. Curious, he got out of bed and followed the faint melodious sound.

He eventually tracked the music to one of the gardens, and was surprised to find Zuko sitting with the horn. A delightful surprise, as the lovely notes pouring out reinforced Iroh's opinion that his nephew was truly a gifted player, but he'd utterly refused to play for years! Why…?

Then Iroh followed Zuko's gaze to where Katara was sitting, and smiled as he understood.


	20. Day 6: Desired

**Day 6: Desired**

Birthing two children had wrought changes in Katara's body; youthful slimness turned to wider hips, stretch marks, sagging in places that never sagged before. But when she turned from the mirror in disgust, Zuko asked her softly, "How can you ever desire me, when I'm so _scarred_?"

She touched the lightning scar as she murmured, "Your scars are marks of your bravery, compassion, your sacrifice… how could I _not_ love you? And what I love, I desire."

He caressed her widened hips as he whispered, "These are marks of _your_ sacrifice… And what I love, _I_ desire," before he kissed her.


	21. Day 7: Pride

**Day 7: Pride**

Katara had never thought of herself as prideful, until now…

Now that she acknowledges how much it must have cost the proud Prince Zuko to humble himself before Team Avatar, admit he'd been wrong to blindly obey his father and hunt them for so long, and beg them to accept him.

Now that she was contemplating a similar humbling; going to Zuko, admitting she'd been wrong to blindly accept the label of 'The Avatar's Girl', and begging him to forgive her earlier rejection of his attempts at courtship.

Her pride says 'Don't do it,' but her heart says she must.


	22. Day 8: Prejudice

**Day 8: Prejudice**

Zuko and Katara knew well that the biggest stumbling block to their relationship was their respective countries' prejudice towards each other. The Fire Nation viewed the Water Tribes as contemptible savages; the Water Tribes' general consensus was that the only good firebender was a dead firebender.

But they fought their campaign for acceptance as vigorously and strategically as any war campaign, with everything from blatantly favorable trade agreements to changing children's school textbooks. It took five years of plotting and maneuvering…

But their wedding was blessed by both Fire Sages and Water Tribe Shamans, and the populace cheered when they kissed.


	23. Day 9: Sublime

**Day 9: Sublime**

One night the group passed around a list of interesting questions, and Suki read aloud, "Most sublime experience?"

"Watching Aang emerge from the iceberg," Katara said after a few moments' thought. "That incredible light … It was awe-inspiring."

Zuko also paused before answering, "Meeting the dragons. Their firebending… it was like they awakened a part of my soul that I didn't know I had."

But later Katara blushingly whispered to Zuko, "Aang wasn't actually the first thing I thought of. That night in your room, the first time we…"

Zuko smiled sheepishly as he admitted, "That was my first thought too."


	24. Day 10: Affliction

**Day 10: Affliction**

When Zuko took Azula's lightning to save Katara, the resulting scar was more than skin deep. Katara did everything she could to heal him, even begged for more Spirit Oasis water, but Chief Arnook chose to blame Zuko for Yue's death (since Zhao didn't exist to blame anymore) and coldly refused.

For the rest of his life, Zuko felt agony whenever his abdominal muscles were stretched too far, though he generally hid it well and adapted his fighting style to minimize the pain. But whenever he winced and Katara looked horribly guilty, he assured her, "Always more than worth it."


	25. Day 11: Intimacy

**Day 11: Intimacy**

Born to royalty, Zuko was used to body servants. People had always bathed him, clothed him, brushed his hair, and touched him all over when he barely knew more than their names. That wasn't intimacy, that was just service.

But there was one part of him he never let any servant touch; the scar on his face. Not because it hurt—there was no pain, the nerve endings had been destroyed—but because there was too much significance, too much ever-raw emotion tied to that scar tissue.

Only Katara had ever touched it. He vowed that only she ever would.


	26. Day 12: Mistake

**Day 12: Mistake**

Katara swore to Aang that she'd been in Zuko's arms purely by mistake. She'd tripped on a small rock, he'd caught her, and he'd just been steadying her until she'd been on firm footing again; end of story!

Zuko tried to tell Sokka the same thing, he really did… but he was a terrible liar. Sokka finally told him with a frown, "Your real mistake, Jerkbender, was in not being upfront with me about it!"

So Zuko said bravely, "Sokka, I'm courting your sister! (gulp) Uh, are you okay with that?"

"Just promise me you'll serve meat at the wedding!"


	27. Day 13: Festival

**Day 13: Festival**

The international summit in Omashu coincided with their Spring Equinox festival. Mai wasn't interested, but Zuko let Katara talk him into going with her and Aang.

Soon after arriving, Aang saw something interesting and disappeared into the crowd. After searching awhile, Katara spotted Aang at a distance and grabbed Zuko's hand to go to him, passing under a flower-decorated arch along with the way…

Only to stop in their tracks when the watching crowds roared their approval. "What's going on?"

"You just passed under our fertility festival's Wedding Arch!" Bumi said gleefully as he appeared. "Name your first boy after me!"


	28. Day 14: Stranger

**Day 14: Stranger**

When Zuko walked into their suite, Katara was waiting for him, dressed as a dockside prostitute. She purred, "Hey, stranger; new in town?"

Wide-eyed, Zuko sputtered, "Katara?"

"Who's Katara? I'm Sapphire," as she posed for him.

"I see," he said, nodding. "Wait right here, okay?" and he hurried back out again.

Katara thought he'd return wearing a borrowed guard's uniform, or his old armor. But instead he came back with the palace physician, babbling that she was acting strangely and didn't remember her name, she must have developed amnesia!

That was the _**last**_ time Katara took romantic advice from Ty Lee!


	29. Day 15: Wonderland

**Day 15: Wonderland**

Little Roku loved Uncle Aang's visits, especially when they all rode on Appa to Ember Island, and went to a wonderful secret cove that Uncle Aang had found when he was a kid. There were waterslides that went through tunnels, and zipping through them was so much fun!

Then Uncle Aang taught him how to do an _awesome_ dive. He surfaced and shouted excitedly, "Didja see, Dad? Didja see, Mom?"

"We saw, son," Dad said with a wry grimace as he pulled at his shirt, soaked from the giant splash. Mom just laughed and bent the water from them both.


	30. Day 16: Separate

**Day 16: Separate**

The Fire Lady traditionally had a separate suite in the palace. Katara normally never used it, but when she became pregnant, the physicians insisted she stay sequestered until six weeks after the birth.

Katara and Zuko reluctantly agreed to the separation. The suite was reopened, and Katara moved in right after Toph's visit to congratulate the happy couple.

And every evening after bidding his servants goodnight, Zuko opened the trapdoor to the secret tunnel Toph had made for them, connecting his suite with Katara's. He refused to risk the baby's wellbeing with sex, but they cuddled and slept till dawn.


	31. Day 17: Snow

**Day 17: Snow**

Zuko was thirteen years old, banished and searching for the Avatar before he saw his first snowfall. He was fascinated by the snowflakes, softly falling from the sky like white ashes without any scent, and melting when they touched his armor.

Before the month was over he _**hated**_ snow as miserably cold stuff, longing desperately for the heat of his homeland.

But his attitude changed after the war, when he went with Katara to the South Pole. She taught him how to make snowmen and throw snowballs, and when she danced in the falling snow…

Yeah, snow was pretty nice.


	32. Day 18: Heat

**Day 18: Heat**

The worst part of living in the Fire Nation was the oppressive heat of summer. Katara liked being toasty-warm as much as anyone, but back in the Water Tribes it had been easy to cool off when you got too hot. In the Fire Nation sometimes it was so hot, you couldn't cool off even by shedding _all_ your clothing. Even some of the _springs_ were filled with _hot_ water!

Without her ability to freeze water to ice, Katara couldn't withstand the constant heat. But she had her bending… and she had Zuko. That made it all worth it.


	33. Day 19: Stubborn

**Day 19: Stubborn**

One of the things Katara admired most about Zuko was his sheer determination.

Well, when she was happy with him, she called him determined. When she wasn't, she called him cow-pig stubborn and worse.

Zuko had been _stubborn_ when he'd been chasing the Avatar all across the world. But he had been _determined_ when he'd faced Azula in the Agni Kai. And he'd been even more determined later on, when he'd gone up against the Fire Nation nobility and even the Fire Sages' edicts, to make Katara his bride (that was when the Fire Sages called him hopelessly stubborn.)


	34. Day 20: Demons

**Day 20: Demons**

Ozai was back, Aang's energybending had worn off, the Fire Lord laughed while turning the Avatar into a blackened corpse, and now he had hordes of loyal followers at his back storming the capital as he strode towards Zuko, towering over him, a flaming hand raised…

Then Katara, singing, rode in on a gentle wave that picked Ozai up and swept him out to sea.

In their bedroom, Katara watched as Zuko settled into an easier sleep. He still wouldn't talk to her about the demons haunting his dreams, but at least her softly singing to him seemed to help.


	35. Day 21: Traditions

**Day 21 Traditions**

There were many traditions associated with the Fire Lord's wife:

She would be a nobleman's daughter, usually one born in the Capital City.

The marriage would be arranged by the families, and approved by the Fire Sages.

She would be dress lavishly, and have impeccable manners at all times.

After the wedding she would move into a separate suite in the palace, to await her lord's visitations.

She would bear the Fire Lord two children, 'an heir and a spare'.

Katara broke every one of those traditions, even the number of children (three), and Zuko loved her for it.


	36. Day 22: Forbidden

**Day 22: Forbidden**

'Forbidden fruit tastes sweetest.' An old saying, but many adulterers can attest to its truth.

Perched in a tree and wearing his Blue Spirit guise, Zuko eyed the window, knowing the prize that awaited him inside. Tonight he'd make Katara forget all about her much-vaunted 'powerful bender' of a husband; they would share forbidden fruit under the cover of darkness.

He crept noiselessly through the window, stole up to the bed—and froze, when he realized that Katara wasn't alone in it:

.

"Kuzon had a nightmare," Katara explained resignedly, gesturing at their son snoring on Zuko's pillow. "Sorry, not tonight…"

.


	37. Day 23: Serenity

**Day 23: Serenity**

Every morning at sunrise, Zuko would sit on the balcony with a quartet of candles, and meditate with fire; the flames rising and falling in time with his breaths.

Every evening, right after sunset, Katara would take a bowl of water out to the balcony and meditate in the way Zuko had taught her long ago. The water would shift to and fro in the bowl, tiny tides matching her rhythmic breathing.

Neither disturbed the other during meditation; the time to refresh their spirits, and find serenity with their elements. But after each meditation came smiles, caresses and words of love.


	38. Day 24: Tea

**Day 24: Tea**

Katara prided herself on being a good cook, but she admitted that she'd never made tea before; none had been imported to the South Pole while she'd been growing up. Still, if even Zuko could learn how to make good tea while living in Ba Sing Se, how hard could it be?

She served her first batch to Zuko and Iroh, and waited expectantly for their reaction. Zuko's eyes went wide as he sipped, and after a moment he said, "It's very… bracing; thank you!"

Katara left, smiling, as Zuko whispered, "Was _my_ first batch that…"

"_Yes_," Iroh muttered back.


	39. Day 25: Light

**Day 25: Light**

When Zuko and Katara celebrated their twenty-fifth anniversary with a trip to Republic City, they were introduced to the latest invention: the electric light.

Zuko's first reaction to the glowing bulb was scowling rejection; it was too garish, and it didn't _feel_ right to his firebending chi. Katara agreed that it was garish, and besides, she just didn't trust electricity; it was too much like lightning.

But Sokka showed them how reading lamps could ease Zuko's near-constant eyestrain. And then they danced under strings of lights at an evening gala…

Zuko gave in and ordered electric lights for the palace.


	40. Day 26: Holiday

**Day 26: Holiday**

Three months after his wedding, the Fire Lord decreed the restoration of another pre-war holiday to the Fire Nation's calendar. The seventh day of the fifth month would once again be celebrated as "Bounty of the Sea" day! There would be a festival with water-themed games, cooking contests and other fun activities.

Historians said that holiday had traditionally been held on the sixth day of the eighth month, but their ruler said the Avatar remembered differently, and besides, he'd already decreed what day it would be held on. And the fact that it was also Katara's birthday was _completely coincidental_!


	41. Day 27: Similarity

**Day 27: Similarity**

They were opposite genders, bent opposite elements and had started out on opposite sides of the war, but there were some definite similarities between Katara and Zuko:

Both had been particularly close to their mothers, but lost their mothers at a young age.

Both were serious people, and very determined in their goals.

Both were protective of the people they loved.

And as Sokka pointed out with amusement, both were _terrible _at telling jokes!

They had enough similarities as well as opposites, that they complemented each other like yin and yang.

And years later, their children had similar character traits.


	42. Day 28: Atonement

**Day 28: Atonement**

Zuko suddenly broke away from Katara, his face stricken. "No… we can't do this!"

"But Zuko, I-"

Katara, I-I can't do this to Aang! Not after all the wrong I've done in the past, especially to him! I… I have to atone!" as he turned away from her, ignoring her outstretched arms, and nearly ran from the room.

Zuko went straight to Aang… and told the airbender about the bucket of slime he'd been helping Katara rig over the entry to Aang's room; revenge for a prank he'd pulled on her yesterday.

Surprisingly, it was _Aang_ who pouted, "Spoilsport!"


	43. Day 29: Steam

**Day 29: Steam**

People who opposed Zuko and Katara's union were fond of saying, "Fire and Water are opposites; they cancel each other out!"

Actually, in the right quantities, fire and water together make _steam_. Steam that Katara learned to waterbend at her foes, so firebenders preparing to melt her ice daggers got scalded instead. Steam that Zuko _also_ learned to bend with Katara's help, adapting her waterbending moves to bend the heat inside the steam.

Working together on the battlefield, they overwhelmed the Ozai supporters with steam and defeated them easily.

And afterwards, celebrating, they made steam of a different sort… ;-)


	44. Day 30: Gravity

**Day 30: Gravity**

Sometimes Katara persuaded Zuko to take a break from his royal duties, and take her aloft in their private balloon. They both missed flying everywhere on Appa; the balloon wasn't the same, but it still let them escape the earth and all the cares dragging them down for a while.

Sometimes Zuko would take them really high up, then stop firebending and let the airbag cool. When they sank rapidly they experienced the sensation of freefall, release from gravity for just a few thrilling moments. Their kisses and groping in those moments were especially passionate, just before he started firebending again.


	45. Day 31: Eve

**Day 31: Eve**

It was the eve of her wedding day, and Katara was too nervous to eat. What if the people of the Fire Nation never accepted her? What if Zuko eventually grew to _hate_ her for being different, making his reign even more difficult?

Sokka reassured her, "If things don't work out for you here, you know you'll always have a home at the South Pole. But you and Zuko… you'll _**make**_ it work out, Katara. You're both so determined, nothing stops you! I have only one question…"

"What?"

He pointed to her ocean kumquats. "Are you going to eat that?"


	46. Author Notes 1

**Author Notes 1**

I do my best to write a complete ficlet, whether just a moment of introspection on a character's part or an entire scene, in just 100 words. But sometimes it's not quite enough, judging by the questions and comments some readers have left in their reviews. So this and the next few chapters are my author notes, most of them in response to comments people have made on various drabbles in this collection:

Chapter 1, Zutara Week 2011 prompt #1: '**Mask**'

Yes, Katara already had a 'secret identity' as the Painted Lady, as made plain by the 3rd-season episode with that name. But that identity was exposed to not just Team Avatar but all the citizens of that Fire Nation village by the end of that same episode, and from what Sokka said during 'the Ember Island Players' it even got put into that play, so it's not a secret at all anymore. Zuko's secret identity as the Blue Spirit is known to only three other people; Zhao, Iroh and Aang, and none of them are talking. Zhao because he's dead, Iroh because he loves his nephew and Aang because he just doesn't like to talk about how Zuko once rescued him from Zhao (he mentioned it exactly once, in the episode 'The Western Air Temple', and even then he didn't give details.) Katara chose a red mask and a new secret identity as the Red Spirit, to preserve both her and Zuko's privacy.

Chapter 2, Zutara Week 2011 prompt #2: '**History**'

In my headcanon, the Fire Nation prince from 500 years ago was never made Fire Lord because he was never the crown prince; instead he was the third son of that era's Fire Lord, an expendable so far as the rules of succession are concerned. So he was married off to that era's Northern Water Tribe princess, as part of an alliance or important trade agreement; the fate of spare royal children throughout most of our world's history. The marriage wasn't for love (though they did eventually grow to care deeply for each other), but the historical tome Katara read doesn't say anything about why they married, and she's a romantic girl at heart.


	47. Author Notes 2

**Author Notes 2**

Chapter 6, Zutara Week 2011 prompt #6: '**Legendary**'

For those folks who wondered where the Western Water Tribe would be:

Someday in one of my fics, Zuko will give Katara and his waterbending children an entire island to call their own, the unnamed and currently-uninhabited island that Avatar Roku lived and died on. I figure it's uninhabited because there's no freshwater source on the island; that's actually a pretty common issue with islands formed from volcanic eruptions. (Fun fact for geography lovers: the island of Oahu is the most populous island in the Hawaiian chain almost entirely because it has the most freshwater wells.)

But after all the help that Katara and the rest of Team Avatar freely give to the Fire Nation after the war's end, many wounded warriors healed and many villages like Jang Hui helped to recover from the War Machine's exploitation—and after there are a few other big changes in the Fire Nation's geography, which I won't go into yet—Zuko decrees that the island will be turned over to Katara as both a reward and an anniversary present, to make what she can of it. With Toph and Aang's help, Katara makes a freshwater source on the island, and by the time her and Zuko's children come of age there are enough inhabitants there to found the Western Water Tribe. (The Eastern Water Tribe is what people eventually come to call the Great Foggy Swamp.) The unnamed mother and daughter in this drabble are from roughly Korra's time, 75 years after the Comet.

Chapter 7, Zutara Week 2011 prompt #7: '**Caught**'

Yes, that was a deliberate tease. I'm just as dirty-minded as most of you are, but I titled this collection 'Fluffy Bits', so I have the self-imposed restriction of keeping everything PG at most. But when I'm given a prompt that normally inspires far-more-than-PG thoughts in most Zutara lovers, well… ;-)


	48. Author Notes 3

**Author Notes 3**

Chapter 11, Zutara Week 2012 prompt #4: '**Whimsical**'

One reader asked about why bending wouldn't be allowed during Katara's pregnancy. Well, if she were a firebender, there'd probably be no restrictions at all beyond the usual exercise guidelines for pregnant women (don't workout to exhaustion, keep well-hydrated, avoid contact sports and anything that requires excellent balance because your center of gravity is shifting.) But Katara's a waterbender, and the Fire Lord's heir absolutely _has_ to be a firebender. No, that requirement was never stated outright in the series, but not only did Ozai make such a huge deal out of his kids' firebending, Aang defeated him solely by taking away his firebending. The only way that would actually defeat Ozai, who still had armies with thousands of troops at his command—they definitely weren't all on the airship fleet—was if Ozai needed that firebending in order to be Fire Lord and therefore Commander in Chief of all those troops.

So anyway, poor Katara gets slapped with the restriction of 'no waterbending' because the Fire Sages fear that doing so would influence the unborn child into developing an affinity for Water instead of Fire. And who knows, they might be right.

Chapter 27, Zutara Month Day 13 Prompt: '**Festival**'

On the surface, this drabble probably seems like it fits the Zutara Month Day 12 prompt better: Married by Mistake! But actually, Zuko and Katara were very deliberately and elaborately set up, by Bumi and by someone else... but explaining how and by whom would take far more than 100 or even 1,000 words to tell! I could write out the whole story someday, if enough people express interest in it.


	49. Author Notes 4

**Author Notes 4**

Chapter 29, Zutara Month Day 15 Prompt: '**Wonderland**'

Yes, that's a glimpse into the far future of my currently ongoing multichapter story, "Sacrifices". But there will be a lot of drama and angst (and Kataangst) to go through before we arrive at scenes that fluffy…

Chapter 30, Zutara Month Day 16 Prompt: '**Separate**'

Yup, Toph made the secret tunnel for them, but it was Zuko's idea to call her in and ask her to do it. Though they'll be happy to no longer need the tunnel a few weeks after the baby's born, both Zuko and Katara are quite pleased with the arrangement, though for different reasons. Katara's tickled by the thought of having her own Secret Tunnel to be with her love, just like Oma and Shu. While Zuko's happy for the opportunity to be sneaky again, this time for a very good cause.

Chapter 34, Zutara Month Day 20 Prompt: '**Demons**'

When I wrote about Katara singing while riding a wave, I was picturing this: As dream-Ozai bears down on him, Zuko suddenly hears his wife singing softly (an old Water Tribe lullaby, though he doesn't know it as such.) Then he sees water rapidly rising up around Ozai's surprised form, though somehow not touching Zuko at all. And as the wave sweeps over Ozai, Katara appears at its crest, her face serene as her song reassures Zuko, though not in so many words, that everything's going to be all right.

But after two reviewers mentioned how hilarious they found the idea, I began to picture the scene with less serenity and more silliness, as suddenly the water became a blue billowing blanket in a palace made of painted cardboard. Now it's a scene from "Zutara: The Musical!" The newest creation by that master playwright Pu-On Tim, as performed by the Ember Island Players! (And if that gives anyone a story idea, go for it! Just let me know when it's posted, so I can read it too!)


	50. Author Notes 5

**Author Notes 5**

Chapter 36, Zutara Month Day 22 Prompt: '**Forbidden**'

I got a couple of distraught PM's over this one… Yes, adultery was mentioned in the first paragraph, but no, Katara was NOT married to Aang. C'mon, after everything he did in the series, most of fandom should be in agreement that even though he's not a freakin' prodigy like Azula, Zuko is a powerful bender! No, this was set several years into Zuko and Katara's marriage, and a case of Blutara roleplaying gone awry.

After Katara's Most Embarrassing Moment Ever (see chapter 28, Zutara Month Day 14: 'Stranger') and Zuko had roleplaying explained to him, he got Very Interested and decided he wanted to try it. (But in a rare display of common sense, he let Katara know his intentions first, because the truth is that she reacts to surprises about as well as he does.) However, their anticipated playtime was postponed, _forbidden_ by their son's innocent presence in the room... ;-)

Chapter 37, Zutara Month Day 23 Prompt: '**Serenity**'

Yes, Katara's remembrance that it was Zuko who taught her how to meditate was a deliberate reference to my fic 'Promises to Keep'.

On a side note, I found it interesting that during the series, we saw firebenders doing it, airbenders doing it and once even an earthbender doing, it, but no waterbenders were never seen meditating. It's been suggested that their culture and their benders simply don't do that, and that's a possibility; in RL, martial arts and meditation only occasionally overlap.

But if waterbenders were in the habit of meditating in the way that Zuko taught Katara, then they might well have figured out the principles of bloodbending long before Hama did, and ATLA's history would be very different indeed. Someday far in the future, after all of my current mega-chapter sagas are done, I hope to write the story of "Avatar: The Blind Earthbender," in which Avatar Toph and her friends Zuko and Azula of the Fire Tribe Fens, later joined by Aang and Teo from the Free Cities of Glass, fight to free the world from the cruel grip of the Ice Empire before Koda's Comet returns and the whole world drowns… (Yes, that one turns into a Zutara story too. Also, Zuko has a pet swamp dragon that he communicates with by dancing.)

So this posting makes 50 chapters for this drabble series; time to close it for the third and last time. If/when I participate in another Zutara writing challenge, it'll be in a new drabble series, title as yet undecided. Thanks for reading, and remember, reviews are always welcome!


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